


The Wind from Above

by Georges_writes_s1ns



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cannibalism, Cannibalistic Thoughts, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Hannibal feeds Will, Heavy Angst, M/M, Prison, Prison Sex, Prisoner Hannibal Lecter, Prisoner Will Graham, Smut, The Platform Au, Will Graham is a Cannibal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:55:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23531200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Georges_writes_s1ns/pseuds/Georges_writes_s1ns
Summary: Will wakes up in a neo-prison, every day a platform goes down the tower with food on it. The only problem is that he's not the first to eat it, nor is he the last.What happens when there's no more food on it? What happens when you can't eat for a month?
Relationships: Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 14
Kudos: 83





	1. Level 48

"What happened ? Where am I? It doesn't feel good."  
"There's three types of person here. Those from above. Those from below. And those who fall."  
He opens his eyes. They feel irritated. He opens them a little more, blinks several times. He sits on his bed. He is in a prison onesie. Another man is sitting on his bed on the other side of the room. He is looking at him.  
"Level 48." He says it like it's obvious.  
He looks around him and understand.  
"The hole?"  
"Yes." Again it seems obvious to him. "The hole. It's only the beginning of the month. So the main question is: What are we going to eat?"  
He is disturbed by the question but he has to ask.  
"What are we going to eat?"  
"Obvious. What those from above don't eat."  
He looks up, wondering.  
"Who are those from above?"  
And only get a look of disappointment.  
"The people on Level 47. Obviously."  
He gets on his feet and gets off his bed. Looking at the floor. A massive square hole on the floor, in the middle of the cell. He looks at it. And carefully goes around it. He looks down and sees a bed. The closer he gets the more he sees. It looks like a hive. A deep concrete hive. There are people sitting the border of the hole. Others like him looking down. He looks at the man, still sitting across the room on his bed. He isn't scared anymore. He saw so much of it. He moves around it again and looks up. He is here and can't escape anymore. He walks to his cellmate. He scratches his head trying to remember his name. And goes for a handshake.   
"I'm Will"  
The man looks at him with disgust. He doesn't seem to be into handshakes.  
"Stay on your side of the hole, please. Will."  
It's going to be hard living like that. He is even more asocial than Will.  
"What name did they give you?"  
"Yes. We should know each other's name. We'll be together for a long time. Or maybe not... Who knows?"  
Will could see the glimpse of bellow his eyes. He himself already thought about it.  
"My name is Gideon"  
"And mister Gideon, do you know what is the purpose of the Hole?"  
"It's obvious: Eating. Sometimes it's easy. And others, difficult... It depends on which level you are. Fortunately, Level 48 is a good level."  
Will is relieved. He won't be eaten or murdered. At least this month.  
"Are there many more level below? Don't tell me, Obvious."  
He got a smile out of the man.  
"Don't worry about them. Soon there won't be much of them." He is still smiling, he enjoys the idea of people killing themselves or killing each other.  
Will looks down, wondering how much of them won't survive.  
"Hey, you, down there! Can you hear me?"  
"Don't speak to them!"  
"Why?"  
"Because they are below us."  
Will looks up if he can't speak to people below he could try with people above.  
"The people above won't answer!!!"  
"Why?"  
"Because they're above. Obviously."  
"You think it's all very obvious. You must have been there for a long time."  
"Months. Months and months. And I repeat, 48 is a good level. You're very lucky."  
He looks at the number 48 on the wall. Above it, two lights, one green, one red, stands out of the wall.  
"And how long are we going to spend on this wonderful level?"  
"We'll be here for exactly a month. Then we'll see. Now that's the last question I'll answer. Speaking tires me out. Especially when I have to give more information than I get. Obviously, that's not fair. For now on, I will give you as much information as you give me."  
Will is intrigued. He doesn't like talking about himself. But if it's the only way he can get words out of his cellmate, then so be it.  
Gideon stands up and takes his pillow. He throws it on the floor near the hole, very, very close to the hole. Suddenly a sound resonates in the cell.  
"The red light went off and the green one came one. I've just given you some information. Now, it's only fair for you to give me some, right?" He looks at him kneeling on his pillow. "Why did the red light go off and the green one comes on?"  
Gideon smirk, Will is clever, but it won't last long. Gideon looks up, a concrete block is slowly going through the hole above, floating its way to the hole on the floor. It's dirty, there are spots of dry liquids on the sides. The more it goes down the more he sees. Gideon is already grabbing things on it. Will is just standing in front of it. He sees plates, containers, glasses, wine, food. All over this big and solid platform, what used to be succulent dishes and are now the leftover of 47 other levels.  
Gideon who seemed so polite in his own way, and respectable, was eating like a dog, like an inhuman creature, like an animal starved for days. Breaking chicken bones, taking a hand full of rice and swallow it without chewing.  
"It has already been eaten." He can't eat after someone else. "It's disgusting."  
"That's so obvious, I won't even say 'obviously.' "  
He looks up at see an old man lurking around the hole. He envies them even if he already ate.  
"Let's see. If there are 47 levels above us and two people per level. We are eating 94 people's left-overs?"  
"Stop worrying. As the month goes by, there'll be fewer people above us" Will is disturbed, why would someone with more privilege die? "Aren't you going to eat?"  
"I'm not hungry."  
"You will be."  
Gideon continues to dip his hands in plates around him. Talking mouthful and spitting what he can't eat in the meat on the platform.  
Will can't get this thought out of his head.  
"Why did you say there'd be fewer people next month?"  
"I won't say it's obvious because it's not." Gideon had his mouth full of chicken breast. "I didn't understand it myself until I was level 8." His attention went off as his hands were seeking through the table for more food. "WINE!" He was truly happy to see a bottle of wine still full. "There must be quite a few Muslims and teetotalers up there." He drank like he was thirsty."Normally, the drink's all gone by now." He burps and keeps on eating everything he can find. "You're really not going to eat?"  
Will must admit that seeing him eat like that got him hungry after all. But he said he wasn't and he is very stubborn. He moves a salad leaf and find an apple still intact. He takes it and put it in his onesie pocket. "For later." While still eating the roasted chicken to the bone, Gideon smirked. The green light went off and the platform went down. Gideon took the last bite and drank a long gulp of wine before throwing the bottle on the platform and spitting what he had in his mouth through the hole. Will grimaced.   
"Why did you do that?"  
Gideon was heading back to his bed but turned back and said  
"For the people below to eat."  
"And what if the people above did the same?"  
"They probably do." He leaned on his bed, and screamed "BASTARDS"  
Will was starting to sweat; his onesie felt smaller and hotter.  
"Isn't it very hot in here?"  
"And it'll get only hotter."  
"Hotter?"  
"We'll be burnt alive."  
"But why?"  
"Because of you."  
"The temperature will keep rising unless..."  
"Unless what?" Will is panicking, it's unbelievably hot in there.  
"Unless you throw this apple away" Will takes the apple in his hands, considering it. He wishes could take a bite out of it. But Gideon adds "The food belongs to us only while the platform is on our level." Will could nearly taste the apple. "If you keep anything, The temperature rises till we're cooked or falls till we freeze. It depends."  
Will holds the apple so close to his mouth but... he throws it through the hole to the platform a level below. "Shit!!" He is relieved but angry not to have released the stab of hunger that grew only wider as his lips felt the skin of the apple.  
He goes back to his bed and closes his eyes.

"Do you understand?" says a sweet woman's voice. "I said. Do you understand?"  
"Sorry what ?"  
"Once you're inside, you can't get out till the agreed period is over."  
"I've been admitted?"  
"Not yet."  
"Can my item be a switchblade?"  
"It can be whatever you want."

Will is up again. He looks at the ivory switchblade in his hand. It was a gift from...  
"I'd like to tell you why I'm here." Will just wants to talk to avoid thinking about...  
"Why?"  
"So you can tell me why you're here. Obviously"  
"I wanted to take my dogs but I could only choose one and honestly I couldn't choose. So I took a gift from... Someone I cared about... a long time ago. He might be dead by now. Anyway, They said I could only take an item so I thought I'd take something useful. Just in case, You know."  
"You're here voluntarily?"  
A wide silence opened. If he asks it's because he isn't here voluntarily.  
"Yes, voluntarily. Six months in exchange for an accredited diploma."  
"An... Accredited... Diploma!? I should get two!" Gideon slowly rise to sit on his bed and face Will. "I came here for a year."  
Finally, Will gets words out of the man.  
"Why are you here?"  
Gideon astonished by the facts looks away and lean back in bed. He turns his back at Will and face the wall.  
"They give this guy one, and not me!"  
The lights go off. And the red light that indicates the comings of the platform is the only light left in the concrete hive.

Looking at his pocket knife, red under the night light, Will hear a noise, as if something was lurking in the dark, something with a hoe sliding against the concrete walls. Followed by faraway whistles. Whistles of strong winds against an eroding cliff. He gets out of bed slowly, looks around him and gets closer to the hole. He looked down.  
"I'd get back if I were you."   
Will barely had the time to look up that the platform rushed into their cell and before he could realise what happened it was already 10 levels higher. He got so close to death and for the tiniest glimpse of his life.

Another day, the platform is at their level, Gideon is eating disgustingly like yesterday and Will is looking at him, disgusted and still not decided to eat, That.  
"Aren't you going to eat today either?"  
"No, Obviously."  
"What a waste. You don't deserve to be on this level."  
The green light goes off and the platform down.  
"You still haven't told me why you're here. Come on, tell me."  
Like yesterday, Gideon spat in the hole.  
"Only if you promise not to use my word again."  
Will mimes sewing his lips and throwing the key away.  
"I was at home, and an ad came on Tv. A bearded chap with a knife-sharpener. 'The Samurai-Max sharpens any blade, straight or serrated,' he said. 'Look at this knife. It's so blunt, it wouldn't cut a sponge. But just apply the Samurai-max, and you can cut even the hardest surfaces, like this brick.' And it was true. He cut it." Gideon threw his pillow on his bed and went to the tab to drink some water. And clean from the chicken oil he had on his face. "Then, a few housewives came on, saying how the Samurai-Max had changed their lives. 'We could never cut tomatoes, bread fell to pieces when we cut it. The Samurai-Max changed our lives' they all said. Honestly, I've never peeled a tomato, and I always buy sliced bread. And I've never known why you'd want to cut a brick with a kitchen knife. But I started to think... Why don't I sharpen my knives? Maybe my life is such crap because I don't sharpen my knives, don't look after the little things. The little things, Will."  
"And did you buy it?"  
"Obviously, I bought it."  
"And what did you do? Sharpen your knives and slice some bricks or someone's throat?"  
"After I bought it, I watched the next advertisement. The same guy with the beard came on with the same housewives. Guess what they were advertising? A fucking knife that didn't go blunt even if you cut a brick with it. The knife sharpened itself as it cut. Guess what the knife was called?"  
"The Samurai-Plus."  
"You bought them too?"  
"No, no..."  
"Obviously, they were taking the piss. The little things... Because of the little things, I couldn't take it anymore. So at Christmas, when my wife told me to show her family how the knives could cut so well, we could cut the turkey just like that. So I showed them. I started with my wife and I stabbed all of them, one by one. Is it my fault if the knives were so sharp it could cut through their skin like butter?"  
Will sat, straight, on his bed.  
"You killed all your family and they took you here?"  
"They gave me a choice between a psychiatric hospital and the hole. And I came here. They never offered me an accredited diploma, though."  
They looked in each other's eyes across the room, both sitting on their bed.  
"How many levels are there?"  
"I don't know. But I know there are more than 132 because I was there."  
"One hundred and thirty-two?" He repeated  
"And there were more below."  
"How much food gets to that level?"  
"None."  
"You can't go without food for 30 days."  
"I didn't say I didn't eat anything, just that no food got down there. And you Can go without food for more than 30 days. The problem is when you get assigned to two lower levels consecutively."  
Will looked up and thought he could try something.  
"We need to tell the people up there."  
"What for?"  
"What do you mean 'what for?'? We can tell them to ration the food and pass the message up to level 46, and so on."  
With a sound of disapproval, Gideon asked.  
"Are you a communist?"  
Will looked at him like he was stupid.  
"It's fairer to ration out the food."  
"They don't like communist here. And even more when they are on the highest levels.  
"Then I'll start with those below." He got on his knees near the hole and shouted "Hey! You in 49, can you hear me?"  
Voices from down below raised.  
"You could leave more wine next time bastards!"  
Gideon got out of bed and stood next to the hole. He started to pee on them.  
"There, your wine fuckers!" Will looked at him. Even more disgusted than before. "The people below are below us."  
"Next month they might be above us."  
"Yeah, and when they'll be there they'll do exactly the same to us or anyone else. The bastards."  
Will rationalised himself. If he can't make people change and especially his cellmate. Then he could at least learn more about him.  
"I chose a switchblade. What did you choose."  
"Isn't it obvious?" He reached for something behind him, still looking dead in Will's eyes. And took out a knife. "The Samurai-plus."

The next day came.   
The platform was there.  
Gideon was eating like a pig as usual.   
And Will, finally, decided to take part in the dinner. He threw his pillow on the floor, kneeled and looked around him. He saw some beans and took one. He took a careful bite out of it and chew it. Wondering would spat it out or on it before that. He only ate that one small bean.

The next day, Will did some stretch out, some sport to stay in shape. While Gideon was playing with his knife, drawing deep sticks on the wall.  
"Do you never get tired of that."  
"How could I? It's incredible. The more I use it the sharper it gets."  
Out of nowhere, with the speed of a heavy rock falling for a cliff, a body fell on the level, and its head exploded. Spilling blood on the floor and splashing blood on Will's face. He stood in front of it. In shock. Looking at it slowly sliding to the next level.  
"Was that a person?"  
"Of course it was a person. I hope he wasn't a teetotaler, because we're low on wine." Will was shocked. Just looking at the blood on the floor and Gideon mindlessly playing with his knife. "On the upper levels, you can eat anything you like. But you have nothing to look forward to, you don't need hope anymore. And you have a lot to think about."   
They both look don't watching the body falling to another level and other people looking at it too.  
"Is no one going to do anything?!" His scream resonated in the whole tower, becoming a simple noise over the levels.  
Gideon looked at him, pointing at him with his knife like it was a simple wooden stick.  
"If I were you, I'd pray they keep us on the middle levels." It wasn't like a wood stick after all. "You look like the sort who'd when they are up above and lack the guts when they are down below.  
"The guts to do what?"  
Gideon put his knife against his own cheek. Will walked to him, put next to the mirror he noticed the blood on his face. He washed it frenetically.   
"Would you tell me a story tonight? These days I can't go to sleep. I miss watching Tv with pointless ads."  
Will dried his face and walked to him.   
"What level have you been on?"  
"I started on level 72, then I went to level 26, 78, 43. Then 11 and 79. 32 and 8. But last month, I was on level 132. And nowhere."  
"Who were you with? Because I believe you always wake up with the same person. Who were you with?"  
"Why do you think that?"  
"Because you said we'd be together next month. Who were you with?"  
Gideon looked at him and went back to play with his knife. And Will continued.  
"It doesn't matter, What matters is that you have a self-sharpening knife, and your cellmate disappeared after you were on a level that gets hardly any food. And you don't look like you spent a month without food. The green light went on. And the platform went down.  
"The conclusion is obvious, isn't it?"  
"You promised not to use that word again."  
"Obviously, you forgot the fifth commandment. Obviously, you dinned on your cellmate."  
Gideon wasn't paying attention to whatever he said, he was looking at the platform going down and soon stop so they can eat. He took his pillow and kneeled in front of the platform. Will turned to look at him. Still angry with him. But suddenly he saw a man. Sitting in the middle of the platform. His legs against his chest, and his arms wrapped around them. He has short hair, it looks blond but it's light brown with white and grey strands in it. Will moves closer to him. He looks at his face. Sharpe jaw and cheekbones. Will moves even closer. His nose is bleeding or at least there's blood under his nose. His hands are bloody too. He has scars on his face.  
"Don't worry about him. Eat."  
"But he is injured.  
"Nothing serious. Isn't that right, Hannibal?"  
Will tries to take his hand but he withdraws it before he can touch him. Will kneels in front of the platform. He looks at Gideon eating, but how can he eat when someone is injured on their table.  
"You know him?"  
"Yes, he comes down every month."  
"Why does he do that?"  
"He's looking for his little brother, or so they say."  
"There are children here?"  
Gideon raises his shoulders. He doesn't know and doesn't care.  
Will can't get his eyes off him. Once again he tries to reach for him.  
"It's okay."  
Hannibal looks at him, he takes away his hands but looks at him dearly.  
"Well, well Will... You'd like to keep him for a couple of days?" Will looks at him, he is so rude to imply that. "I took you for a man of principles."  
"I want to help him."  
"And I'm helping him. In the hole, everyone's free to decide what they want. He wants to go down. Do you know what he does each month? Before coming down on the platform, he kills his cellmate and eats a part them before throwing them in the hole. That way, there's a chance he might be with his brother next month. I wouldn't be surprised if that body you saw was his cellmate." Will looks at him, both intrigued and scared. "I didn't kill anyone on Level 132. Quite simply, my cellmate completed his time in the hole. He'll be out there now, making it big with his accredited diploma." He smirks while eating and continues. "After eight days, a body fell just when the platform was at our level." Still while eating he said. "We ate human flesh. But didn't kill anybody."  
The green light went off. Hannibal stayed on the platform, looking at Will.  
On the level below, they were waiting for the platform. But when they saw him they forced him off it, pulling at his arms and legs.  
Will screamed "Stop. Stop." He ran around the wall to keep his eyes on him "Leave him alone, you bastards!"  
Gideon was standing next to him.  
"They'll only keep him for a couple of days. Don't meddle." Hannibal was screaming. They were both genuinely scared for the same reasons. "Will you tell me a story tonight then--" Will pushed him away.  
"Stop It! Leave him alone!"  
"Go ahead! Jump! It's only six or seven meters down." Will was considering carefully Gideon words.  
Hannibal screams stopped but someone else was screaming. He killed them. He walked back to the platform, covered in blood. And it went down. Will kept his eyes on him and so did Hannibal.  
"What kind of story do you want me to tell you?"  
"Your life, obviously."

"I had dogs, strays, all of them. I was married. But she was always belittling me for not finding a proper job. She had a son and wanted the best for him. I only had a poor job. So one day I came home and she wasn't there anymore--"  
Days went by. They learned about each other's life, they grew to like each other, to know each other. They do sport together. Will started to eat a bit more on the platform. He became mindless, he wasn't caring about anyone anymore. But he was still thinking about Hannibal. How his lips seemed soft to the touch. He could help himself. Sometimes at night when Gideon was sound asleep across the room, he would let his thoughts wonder against Hannibal's skin. About their skin meeting. Their lips meeting. Their hands grabbing each other.

The months was nearly over.   
That night Gideon asked, "Do you believe in God?"  
"Why do you ask that?"  
"If you do, I want you to pray for us. Smell that? It's gas. In a moment, they'll put us to sleep. Tomorrow, we'll wake up on another level. I like you, Will. But I don't think you'll survive long. But I like it. You've got a good heart. Next month will be my second-to-last. When I get out, I should have an accredited diploma. And that's no small matter."  
"Do you believe in God?"  
"This month, yes."  
Everything goes dark. They fall deeply asleep.


	2. Level 171

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now what? Eat and survive?

Will open his eyes. He has fabric in his mouth and all his body is tied up to his bed. He tries to pull it. He screams and agitating on his bed.  
Gideon comes closer to him.  
"You sleep very soundly, Will, "Will screams even more as he sees Gideon's knife in his hand. "Don't worry, don't worry," Will screams and tries to pull the rope, but the more he pulls and the more the fabric around his neck tightens. He hits his head on his pillow and starts to cry.  
Gideon points at the wall. A big 171 is engraved on it. "This is not a good place. Do you understand now? You're younger and stronger than me. You might not attack me immediately, but over time, you'd start to look at me differently. Hunger unleashes that madman in us. Eat or be eaten. And I wouldn't like to be someone else's meal. Obviously I don't want to kill you. Your flesh would rot, and we'd have nothing to eat. Nor will I mutilate you right away. For the first week, fasting is bearable" The more he talks the more Will cries. He screams. He is so scared. "Have you ever eaten snails? Refined people call them escargots. They are highly prized in some places. Before you eat them, you have to purge them for seven to ten days. So there's no need to be scared. Yet."  
Will calms down. They hear other people screaming. Gideon continues.  
"Do you hear them? The scream of people waking to discover what level they're on."They look at the empty space the hole occupies and see bodies falling. One by one. Gideon takes the fabric off Will's mouth.  
"You don't have to do this Gideon."  
"As time goes by, our friendship would deteriorate. And it would end in mutual mistrust, ultimately leading to conflict and crime. I know, because I've experienced it."  
"You're a fucking murderer."  
"No, I'm just a scared man, in a world of little things. I don't like this, my little snail."  
"I'm not a fucking snail."  
"I'm sorry. It's easier for me to think of you as a snail purging its impurities. You see, I'm really sentimental after all." The platform goes does. "See that? They haven't even left us any bones!" He pushes the plates off the platform angrily. "Sons of bitches" He comes back to Will. "Let's see, my little snail, you're tied down. I'm not. You have a switchblade." He points at it, it's on the floor next to Gideon's bed. "And I have my Samurai-Plus" and he shows his blade in his hand next to his face. Obviously, you're in no position to make demands. But if you cooperate, I can offer you a chance to live."  
"You can't mutilate someone here without killing them, you idiot."  
"I can't promise, but I'll do what I can. After eight days, I'll start cutting off strips of flesh. Each time, I'll do my best to treat your wounds. And I'll give you your share."  
"A share of myself?"  
"Think of your own survival and help me. I hope you'll reason yourself before it happens and I'll tell you stories to keep you company."  
"Let's see. That person's death might have been an accident, but THIS ISN'T! You will be solely responsible for my death, you fucker."  
"No. The people above make me do it. Three hundred and forty people are to blame before me."  
"We can survive just by drinking water, Gideon."  
"You might last out, but I'm an old man. I need you to remember that next month will be my last one here. And if I survive... What happens if we're sent to another bad level? Now you get it, don't you?  
"Obviously not!"  
"Will you tell me a story tonight?"  
"Obviously not."  
"In that case, that's an end to it. Speaking tires me out."  
"KEEPING QUIET TIRES YOU OUT!!!"

Every day, Will tries to reason Gideon. Every day he tries to agitate enough he could free himself. He even tried to cut the fabric with his teeth. Night and day, Gideon tells him stories but Will doesn't listen and scream all the air his lungs can gather. 

On the eighth day. He lost hope of ever being saved by anyone.  
"The time has come, my little snail. I would tell you a story today but my mind is blurry. Better for you if we start today. Otherwise, I can't guarantee to make a clean job of it."  
Will is crying silently.  
"I want you to know that I hold you responsible. Not the people up above. Not the circumstances. Not even the Administration. You."  
"You're well purged my little snail. Inside and out. You don't even feel any resentment. Don't worry, it will be just a few morsels of flesh. And you ready?"  
Will just looks away. Crying. And forgetting ever feeling anything other than that. Gideon puts the fabric in his mouth to avoid him biting his tongue or anything because of the pain. He cuts some of the fabric restraining his shoulders on the bed. And start cutting through his skin. The pain is horrible. There's blood all over the bed and on his chest. He screams his lungs out. Suddenly the green light goes on. He looks at it. Trying to remember Hannibal. Hoping that he is on it. And he sees him. He has a fresh wound on his forehead. The platform is going down so slowly. Hannibal looks at Gideon. And Will looks at him with petty in his eyes. Gideon takes a piece of flesh off his shoulder. And Hannibal throws a bottle at him. It explodes and Gideon's knife escape from his hands. Hannibal jumps off the platform and take the knife to slit his throat. And go to Will. He cuts all the fabric restraining him and gives him the knife. Will takes it and jumps on Gideon to stab him to death. Hannibal stands by his side, looking at him murdering the old man. But the pain is horrible and Will faints.

When he wakes up, Hannibal is still there. He bandaged his shoulder and washed his body, he is sitting next to Gideon's body, Eating and cutting pieces him. He looks at Will and sees his awake. He goes to him and gives him Gideon's flesh to eat.  
Will looks at him. He saved him and now he feeds him. Will opens his mouth, allowing human flesh in his body. He tries to chew it, but the gravity is against him and he chocks on it. Hannibal helps him cough it out. His throat his terribly dry. He gives him water directly from his hands and goes back to Gideon's body to take a new piece of flesh. He sits next to Will and put he flesh in his own mouth, chew it carefully and lean on Will. His lips on his lips, and feed him the chewed flesh. Will hardly swallow but put his hand behind his neck and trust a real kiss on his lips. He would have never imagined a first kiss to be like that. His first kiss. Ever.  
"Thanks for saving me, Hannibal."  
Hannibal looks at him. And kiss him back.  
"Thanks for trying to save me in the first place..." He doesn't know his name.  
"Will."  
"Will..." He repeats tenderly.  
"What is your brother's name?"  
Hannibal looks away. He doesn't want to answer. So sad. Will loves his accent.  
"Okay, you don't want to talk. Is there anything you want to do?"  
Hannibal looks at him then looks at the platform. His shoulder is looking really bad. He could stay for the night and go back on the platform tomorrow.  
"Do you want me to stay?"  
"So I can thank you even more? Of course."  
Hannibal looked at the platform one last time before the green light went off and he considered Will's sweet lips.  
"I think I'll stay for the night."  
He sat on his bed. They both knew nothing about all that, they only knew they wanted it. He leaned slowly on him. Another man's body is so foreign to him. They try to kiss each other but just bump their forehead. Will steadies Hannibal's face. And bring his lips to his. His shoulder hurt so much, but the weight of Hannibal's body makes everything less painful. Feeling his body move against his. Hannibal moans whenever Will moves. What is happening? How come, in this hive of hell, something so godly can happen? His neck trembles against his tongue. He feels his cock, hard, against his, even harder. His hand went lost in his dark hair. The lights go off and only remains the red light to wrap the room with its warmth. He sits on his bed, his back against the wall, and Hannibal on his lap. His hands curving his back. His lips drawing the surface of his skin. Hannibal takes the top of his onesie off, opening himself to Will. Will tries his best with his own but let Hannibal do it. They kiss again. Now they understand how their bodies work. Hannibal kiss his wounded shoulder, the taste of blood on his skin is exquisite. Their bodies meet again with a new skin. 

After all that, they spent the whole night breathing each other's air. When the lights went on Hannibal got dressed and prepared morsel of skin from Gideon's body for him. Will only woke up when the platform arrived with this horrid sound it makes every time it moves. He barely had time to kiss him one last time. Hannibal got on the platform. And looked at Will like it was a final goodbye. Gideon's knife in hand. And he went down.

At night, Will manages to forget that Gideon's body is rotten with worms. But sometimes the old man visits him.  
"Eat or be eaten."  
"You made me do it."  
"No. I was helpless and you showed no mercy. You didn't treat me with the same respect I would have shown you. Obviously."  
"Still using that word even when you're dead." He looks at the rotten body and then at his hallucination. "It smells of gas."  
"Now we're the same. We're both murderers. The difference is that I'm more civilized."  
"Go away."  
"I can't go. I'll never go. I belong to you now. I am in your body. But you belong to me too, my snail."  
"Speaking tires me out."  
"See? I was right." As he fell asleep from the gas, he saw Hannibal again. His skin. His kiss. His lips. His eyes. And...


	3. Level 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's over now. Eat.

It smells of dog. He opened his eyes and a dog was licking his cheek. He smiled and opened his eyes wider. He pets the dog, but she put her paw on his shoulder, he hissed in pain and the dog fell on the ground.   
"I'm Alana. And this is Applejuice."  
"Can you bring animals in the hole?"  
"There was no way I was coming without her, Will."  
"It's not a great idea to bring a dog in here. In here, she's more meat than a dog."  
"I thought someone who brings a switchblade would be more sensitive with animals. You care about your own well being and don't show off with your blade always out."  
"How do you know my name?"

"Shall we continue?"  
"Yes."  
She crosses boxes on a registration form.  
"Any gluten or lactose intolerance?"  
"No"  
"Any allergy to shellfish, peanuts, or any types of fruit?"  
"Not that I know of."  
"You know that once you go in, you won't be able to take all your dogs?"  
"Yes, I know."  
"Are these pauses part of the interview?"  
"Do they make you uncomfortable?"  
"No."  
She crosses a box on the other side of the form and he looks at it worried.  
"Your favourite food?"  
"I don't know."  
"Think hard, please."  
"Why do you want to know?"  
"We'll include it on the menu."  
"So, I've been accepted?"  
"Not yet."  
"Escargot à la Bourguignonne."  
"Snails?"  
"Yes."  
"Okay."

"Can you get me out of here?"  
"You know I can't."  
Will is laying on his bed, his shoulder on the border, facing his pillow.  
"How many did you send to this pigsty before they sent you?"  
"If I remember correctly you came here voluntarily. No one sent me. I asked to be sent too."  
"So, you don't know there are people dying in the hole?"  
"We prefer to call it a Vertical Self-Management Center."  
"How many levels are there?"   
"Two hundred levels."  
"Two hundred? There isn't enough food for 200 levels."  
"If everyone ate only what they needed, the food would reach the lowest levels."  
"No, it's not that easy in here."  
"No, it isn't. Or on the outside. But eventually, something has to happen in the VSC. Something that fosters a spontaneous sense of solidarity."  
"The VSC? Spontaneous solidarity? Is that why they created this pit? Change never happens spontaneously."  
"Perhaps, that's why you're here."  
Will lay on his back.  
"I'll be glad just to get out alive."

The platform arrives. Will drops his pillow on the floor and before even sitting he is already eating. A tear running down his cheek. Real food. A real meal after a month of eating human flesh. Rotten human flesh. The big 33 on the wall makes him forget about hunger.  
Applejuice by her side, Alana is barely eating while setting plates with salad, some meat, and a piece of fruit. Will looks at her. She feeds Applejuice a piece of meat.  
"You know that what you're doing could cause the death of a human?"  
"For now on, one day I eat, and the next, she does. It's my ration."  
"Maybe the death of a child."  
"Under 16s aren't allowed in the hole."  
"There's at least one child."  
She repeats herself with more conviction.  
"Under 16s aren't allowed in the hole. The VSC Administration is very strict about that."  
The platform goes down. Will slowly goes to his bed to put his pillow back on it. And Alana looks at it going down, waiting to see those from the level above them starting to eat.  
"Good morning sir. Please listen carefully." But he was already eating like a starved man. "I've left two helpings to one side so you can each eat your share. Please prepare two similar rations for the people on the next level."  
Mouth full they reply with no manner  
"What? We've just been in level 88. It's miracle we're still alive!"  
"I understand, but we have a responsibility to those less fortunate than us this month. Your rations contain enough calories to ensure your survival."  
Hunger made them forget manners. They insult her. Will doesn't care. He's been in a less fortunate level than both of them. He's just going to eat what he likes until Alana gets tired of trying and both will go back to eating one's fill.  
"Please, gentlemen!"  
And just to piss her off, he fills his mouth with more and more food. Will just look at him, not pissed or happy but with petty.  
"Spontaneous solidarity. Perhaps this place exists precisely for the opposite of what you think. If that solidarity emerged, they'd know how to prevent it from happening on the outside."  
"Who's 'they'?"  
"Who do you think?" He walks back to his bed. He is not going to try anything, not today. "The Administration."  
"You're one of those people who thinks all the Administration does the bad. I've worked for them for 25 years."  
"And you benefit from special privileges."  
"What are you implying?"  
"You got to choose your cellmate." He looks at his shoulder bleeding through the fabric. "Not me."

Another day and another attempt. She isn't going to get bored of this, is she? Will tries his best to avoid moving his shoulder, but sometimes he just forgets about it and stretches his arm to reach some food and it starts bleeding again.  
"Gentlemen, I understand you were hungry yesterday, and you didn't pay any notice to me. But it's important you only eat the helpings I've prepared. And make two more for level 35."  
"Leave us alone, Bitch." They fill their mouth again. They won't try to understand. "We'll eat what we fucking like!"  
Alana looks at Will, tired of what anyone tries to do here.  
"Sooner or later, you will see reason to it."  
"Are you real?"

Every day for a full week she tries, again. And again. And again.  
A week later and she was still trying. Over and over.

Will had enough.  
"Listen very carefully. You do exactly what she says or I'm going to shit in your food every day. I'll mix it all up till there isn't a grain of rice left untouched. Do you hear me? You're going to eat shit every day. And now, go and say the same to the bastards beneath you. Is that clear?" Suddenly we could only hear him. They stopped eating. They put down what they had in hands and prepared a ration. "Right."  
Alana looked at him. Disgusted but impressed.  
"It seems to be working."  
"Obviously."  
"But it's not what I thought. I thought I'd persuade them."  
"They are persuaded."  
"With shit."  
"Much more effective than your spontaneous solidarity."  
"Let's see if now we can persuade the people up above."  
"They won't listen."  
"Why?"  
"You can't shit upwards."

It worked for two days. Until they saw someone fall. And when the platform arrived. Hannibal was here. Laying on the food. Covered in blood. His.  
"Alana help me." Will was panicked. "Hannibal" He grabbed his arms and Alana his legs "Do you hear me? Hannibal."  
They put him on his bed.  
"Don't worry Hannibal. I'm here. I'm going to take care of you." Will looked at Alana. "He's the brother of the little boy."  
Alana looked at him, at both them. She forgot about the rations.  
"The pillow. Alana, please. The pillow." She handed him the pillow and looked at the plates on the floor.  
"Don't worry. We're here."  
The platform went down. And Hannibal looked at it. He won't be able to do it this month.  
"I'm cold." He muttered.  
"What?"  
"I'm cold, Will."  
They wrap him in his blanket. Will put his hands on his ears.  
"I'm cold, too. Why is it so cold?"  
Will rushed to the dog.  
"Applejuice, come here."  
She had food in her mouth. He threw it on the platform. The room went warm again.

Hannibal was badly wounded. But Will was here. He was going to take good care of him.  
At night they shared the bed. Will laying on his back and Hannibal softly sleeping on his chest. Will couldn't really sleep, but watching him sleep was all the rest he needed. When he finally fell asleep he dreamt of last month. When Hannibal kissed him. When he moaned under his skin. When all his muscles were stretched under his teeth. How he whispered against his shoulder before licking it. How their breath became one. How he took him near the hole, playing with gravity and death.   
"MONSTER!"  
Will woke up from his dream. Hannibal was no longer in his arms but eating on applejuice. Alana was hitting him, she was so mad at him.  
"MONSTER! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!"  
"Alana stop." Will went between them. "Stop! Both of you." Hannibal looked at Alana in tears and at Hannibal. "Give me that. Give me my switchblade back, please. Hannibal."  
He took his hand and put the bloody weapon in it.  
"Alana. Go back to sleep. I'm taking care of that. You too Hannibal."  
He took his towel and started wiping the floor. Throwing all of it in the hole. When he was done he went back to bed with Hannibal.  
"You can't stay here. You'll have to go tomorrow."  
"I understand."  
"Why did you do that?"  
"I don't know. It... Happened."  
"Hannibal," Will whispered against his lips. "Why did you do that? You could have stayed. We could have been together for the rest of the month." A tear dropped from his eye to his lips.  
Hannibal kissed him. If he couldn't stay, he could at least comfort him. They fell asleep kissing. Alana was looking at them. How could he kiss a monster like him, a dog killer?

When the platform arrived, Alana didn't look at the food. How could she care now?  
Hannibal made an empty space for him to sit. He kissed Will one last time. And the platform went down.  
"It's because of his brother."  
"Seriously? I don't know." She was looking at him like she could be looking at the void of this deadly hive. "I've never been a mother."  
The men from above were starting to eat.   
"Hey! Is this our helping for today?" They were pointing at Hannibal like he was food, and Will was looking at them with disdain "That's fucking ace, man. Thanks."  
"I selected him ten months ago, and he came here alone. He has no father, no mother, no children, no sister and NO brother. His favourite dish is the Sanguinaccio dolce." While listening to Alana tell him more about Hannibal, he was looking at him. One of the men bellow tried to reach for him and Hannibal slit his throat. "He's a psychiatrist. He brought a theremin. He wanted to become a great musician without any distraction. He came into the hole on his own. Do you hear me, Will?" He looked at her briefly and looked at Hannibal once again. "Com-ple-tly Alone." Alana walked to the hole and looked at him covered in blood again. "He wanted to be the Lithuanian Peter Pringle. And now he is a crazed killer looking for a non-existing child." She looked at him. "An act of spontaneous solidarity. Solidarity covered in shit. This isn't a great place for someone who likes dogs." She went back to her bed. "I've worked for them for 25 years. For eight years, I've sent people to this hell. I didn't know what I was doing, because I didn't know. I swear, I didn't know. Do you believe me, Will? You don't believe me, do you? Right now, I need you to believe me. Look at me, Will" She started to unbutton her onesie. "I fought cancer for three years. And they day I found out I'd lost the fight..." She opened it and revealed her skin, covered with red spots, all over her chest and belly."I applied to come here, to help. But you know something? That doesn't matter anymore. I don't care anymore.


	4. Level 202

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't fight it, can you?
> 
> //It's very short but I couldn't do more. Sorry. Still, one chapter left to read.

When he woke up it felt cold. There was something missing and new. He fell asleep easily last night. He didn't smell the gas. He stood on his bed.   
202\.   
He was so deep in the hive that the warmth of a potential meal got lost in all this concrete. He looked at Alana. There was no bed. Just some piece of wood, a pillow, a blanket and a bed frame under the two lights. Alana was hanging from the red light. She hanged herself. Will was alone.   
He was going to spend the month alone. With no food. No one to talk to.  
Gideon was still there, whispering in the dark part of his mind. "Are you going to eat her." "You won't be able to survive without me." Gideon wasn't the only one now. Now Alana was there with him. "Of course you are, Will. Why do you think I hung myself? It would have been much easier to jump like most people do. But I wanted to leave you a gift. My body. I want you to feed off my body, Will. I want you to digest it. Make me a part of you." Will was on the floor, close to having a seizure. Covering his ears to mute them. "Do you think covering your ears will do any good? We're inside your head, Will!" "Eat me, Will" "The madwoman is right. Eat her." "That's right. Cut slices of my flesh and eat my body." Will was maddening. "Oh, redeeming soul! Verily I say unto you: If you eat not the flesh of the Son of Man nor drink of his blood, ye have no life. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. I will raise him up at the least day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him." Will couldn't bear their voices. "Amen"

He took Alana down. Laid her on the floor and covered her body with her blanket.

He is maddening, they scream in his head. He spends all his days counting. Second after second. Tracing sticks on the wall. He hit his head on the wall. He hits his knuckles on the wall. He is so hungry. So hungry. He could cry. But he can't.

Days, Weeks. The month was nearly over. Only two days left. He was so hungry. He was maddening more than ever. Considering to jump, or look at the platform going up every night, going up so fast. 

He couldn't take it anymore. He started with her shoulder blades. And Gideon was behind him, whispering under the red light of the night, naming every part of the body, naming all that can be eaten. When Will finished cutting a decent part of her back. He realised. "It smells of gas"


	5. Level 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To go up, you must go down first

The next day he woke up on a new level. He could smell the food from here.  
6  
A tear went down his cheek. Finally. He could rest, eat, and talk with someone real. He cried like a kid who had lost his parent in a dense crowd. He turned to look at the other bed. Was it his mind or reality. Hannibal. In the other bed. But... If it is him. He will die. He will have to. Or Hannibal will never find his brother, non-existing brother.  
He woke up. It was only a dream. Oh, how much he wished it wasn't.  
"You, up there!" Again. Someone trying to change lives in the hole. "Come on! I know you're there!" She saw Will, eyes wide open and nearly fully awake. "My name Chiyoh. Have you seen what level we're on? Level six. From here I can get to the top. Hey! You in level 5, answer me! Come on, answer me!"  
"What's up? You want to come up?"  
"Yes, I want to come up."  
"What do you want to come up for?"  
"What for? To get out of this hell!"  
"Do you believe in God?"  
"Yes. Yes, I believe in God."  
"But...What God do you believe in?  
"In the one and only God."  
"She says she believes in the same God as us, darling."  
"Come on! I'm just passing through, I promise. God told me to get out of the hole!"  
"She says God has spoken to her." He looks back at her. "And what did he say exactly?"  
"That two pious souls would help me get out of the hole!"  
"Did you hear that, darling? I think God was talking about us."  
"And he will reward you for this!"  
The woman from above went closer to the hole to look at Chiyoh. She had red hair.   
"And how will God reward us?"  
"With everlasting life!"  
"Everlasting life, no less!"  
"Not a bad exchange for helping a Japanese woman."  
"Come on, let me up!"  
They went away from the hole.   
"Throw us the rope. We'll help you."  
"Thank you. Praise the Lord!" She threw them the rope and went to Will still tugged in bed. "See you on the outside."  
She started to escalate the rope. She was close to reaching the concrete floor of level 5. When the red hair woman took her pants off and shat on her. She couldn't hold the rope anymore. She went down the rope, it burned her palms.  
"Bastards!!!! This fucking bitch shat on me!!!"  
Her feet touched the level but she was about to fall, the heavy rope was falling, it was going to go down with her. Will jumped out of bed and grabbed her onesie, pulling her to the ground.  
"PIGS!!!!!!" She screamed with all her lungs. Will still holding her to avoid her from falling in any way. "PIGS!!!!!" He was just standing by her.  
He doesn't care anymore. She is furious and he knows why she is, but he doesn't bother more than that. She goes to the sink to watch the shit off her face and hands.  
"PIGS!!!!"  
"Pray for the rope of God" They were laughing above.  
"My rope. My rope is lost." She looked at herself in the old mirror. "You're fine. Be optimistic. It's going to be fine." The more she looked at herself the more she understood "You're screwed." She fell on her knees "Five, only five. Only five. You'll never get that close."  
She stayed on the floor. Sitting there. And will was just sitting on his bed. Waiting for the platform to come.  
He had so little strength after level 202. He could stand but it was so painful. He dragged himself to the platform.  
And started eating. But he could barely chew. He realised how lucky he was. If next month he ends up at a lower level, he'll jump.  
He looked at Chiyoh and threw her an apple.  
While they were eating in calm, they could here level 5 fuck. They have no respect, to any form of life or conscience.  
The platform went down and Chiyoh threw the apple on it. Will stood. And looked at level 7 jumping on the food like savages. Humanity is lost.

Chiyoh stayed on the floor all day and night. Will couldn't sleep either. He looked at her. 'Maybe there's a way...". But Gideon was there to put him down. "You're adapting very well, my snail. I attacked you. The mad witch committed suicide. Now, you can recover fully at this level, eating everything. You'll have just one more month before you get out with your diploma. See? It wasn't that difficult. It's just up to you now... Just you." And Gideon becomes Alana. "Change ever happens spontaneously, ma'am." And she opens her eyes on him. "Maybe that's why you are here."

Will opens his eyes. He did sleep after all. He convinced himself. He walked to Chiyoh. She was awake, looking at the red lights of the night. He sat next to her and hesitate.  
"Help me down." She doesn't answer so he adds. "We use whatever weapons we can. We get onto the platform and hand out food at every level, just enough to survive."  
"What?"  
"I couldn't do it on my own...But together. We can do it. Together, we have a chance, Chiyoh."  
"I'll try getting up next month."  
"There'll always be some bastard who won't help you."  
"Going down is suicide."  
"If we can get food to the last level, we'll have broken the machinery."  
"There's no machinery. It's nothing but a broken hive without a queen. We don't even know how many levels there are."  
When I was at level 202 I counted, second by second, the time the platform took to come back up. It's not very exact, but by calculating the time, the platform stops at each level... I reckon there are around 250."  
"250?"  
"Yes."  
"What if you're wrong? What if we run out of food and haven't got to the bottom?"  
"Then we stay on the platform and go back upon it. Just like you wanted to."  
"Go down..."  
"To go up."  
"Only mad people would leave level 6."  
"Or two crazy people ready to do anything."

In the morning they broke the bed frames and took the long metal bar.  
Once armed, they wait for it to reach their level.  
They make some room for their feet. Back to back. They are ready.  
It goes down slowly. 

"You! Get out of here!" shoots Chiyoh to one of the men. "Keep well back from the platform!" To the other one.  
"Chiyoh! What the hell are you doing?"  
"Relax, we're just passing through. We'll give you your rations and go."  
Will wonders. 250 levels with so little food.  
"No."  
"No?"  
"No. The first 50 levels eat every day. We start handing out food on level 51."  
"They are friends of mine, two months ago, they helped me climb."  
"They ate yesterday, and they'll eat tomorrow. A day without food won't kill them."  
"No way! I'm on level 7, and I'm entitled to stuff my face with food if I like. I nearly died last month on level 114. Where were you then bastards?"  
"Then, you should understand."  
"What are you? Some sort of messiah? A messiah who has come to save us? A messiah would multiply the loaves and fishes, not take them from our mouths. This is crap, Chiyoh. Christ! I didn't expect this of you. Who are you? The Japanese servant of the white man?"  
Chiyoh looked at Will. Is it hesitation or trust in her eyes. The man sees them looking at each other to take the opportunity to grab some food. But Chiyoh sees him. She hits his head without second thoughts. And looks at Will. He knows.  
Level after level. She scares them away from the platform.  
Until this level. She starts to scream. And sees Murasaki.  
"Chiyoh. I didn't raise you like that. You're standing on the food, you idiot."  
"Who is this lady?" Will whisper to Chiyoh.  
"A wise woman."  
"Did I teach you nothing?"  
"Lady Murasaki, we are trying to make sure that, food gets to every level."  
"That's noble. Very noble. But manners come first. Win them over before you hit them."  
"Sure, but what if we can't?" Will doesn't like her.  
"Then, hit them hard. But dialogue must come first. However... Who up there will know if you succeed?"  
"The administration" tries Chiyoh.  
"The Administration has no conscience. However, there is a slim chance for the people working on level 0 do. That's where you must send your message. And how do we do that? With a symbol. We need a delicious, perfectly presented dish. A luxury dish that gets back to level 0 untouched." She points at the platform. "Imagine their faces when they see that this hell hive sent back a dish like that. Then they will understand the message. The Sanguinaccio Dolce."  
They go back to the platform and take it. Chiyoh holds in her hands the message. It feels as if she was holding her own life in her hands. "You must preserve the Sanguinaccio Dolce as if your life depended on it. The Sanguinaccio Dolce is the message."

They are on the next level now.  
"Friends, I ask you please not to approach the platform. We want you to join a peaceful protest movement that will inexorably change the course of events and set an important precedent--"  
"What? Speak properly, bitch!" Interrupted the woman.  
"We want you to go hungry for a day." Explains Will.  
"A day without food?"  
"Yes."  
She laughs and throws her pillow on the floor. "Fuck that!" And takes a massive bite out of the lobster.   
Will doesn't think twice and hit the back of her head so hard it broke her skull.  
Chiyoh looks at the dessert. "The important thing is the message." She puts on the platform and cover it with a cake bell.

Level after level, people try to steal food. The harder they try, the further they go, people forget to try and understand. All they want is the food they protect.

Finally, Level 51.  
"We don't want trouble, friends. We're just passing through. We'll give you your ration and go."  
They go down the platform and feed them. They don't try to fight them. They are both old. They accept the food they are being given cordially eat it. And Will and Chiyoh go back to their places.

The first five-level accept it. But then they start to ask for more. Always more.

They arrive at level 60. Chiyoh takes pasta and Will a bowl of soup. Will go feed the old man. He helps him swallow. Chiyoh go feed the young man.  
"He's going to die."  
"Not if you look after him." Says Chiyoh.  
"He's going to die anyway." Chiyoh looks at him. "I'll smother him with the pillow."  
"Eat up and don't talk nonsense." Will turns back to look at Chiyoh. He worries.  
"I'll slit open his belly, and I'll eat what you've given him."  
They look at each other. What if... By feeding them, they were simply killing them.

Next level they see a dead man lying on the floor. His face has been eaten and his throat slit.  
"God!"  
"This must be where Hannibal woke up."  
"The brother of the child?"  
"That child doesn't exist."  
"Fuck."  
"Exactly."  
"The platform didn't stop. That means there are more levels than you counted."  
Level after level they see more body half-eaten.  
"Fuck! Will, Fuck! When no-one is alive in a level the platform doesn't stop."  
Three-level further and they hear Hannibal scream.  
"Hannibal! Hannibal!"  
A man his holding him against the wall with one hand on his throat and holds a knife in his other hand. Will gives his switchblade to Chiyoh. The man stabs Hannibal once and Will jumps on his back and bite his throat open. They fall on the ground and Will takes the knife, he stabs him over and over. Hannibal in on his knees looking at Will killing the man who threatened his life. Chiyoh jumped on the other man. He holds his katana with two hands. As Chiyoh jumps, he pierces her stomach with his blade. She falls with all her weight on him and manages to cut his cheek. The man with the Katana jumps on Will and beat him up. Hannibal takes Will's knife and opens his back all the way down. He screams and Hannibal pierces through his ribs to his heart. Will goes to Chiyoh.  
"Chiyoh!"  
"Will. She dead. Go back to the platform. Will! Fast. Please come with me." Hannibal grabs his ankles and pulls him to the platform as it goes down. "Will." He kisses him. "I missed you."  
Will looks around him on the platform. The Sanguinaccio Dolce is still intact. Hannibal helps him up.  
"Okay, listen to me. We have to go all the way down and keep this dessert intact. It's the message."  
"Okay, Will." He looks at it and... "It's... It's sanguinaccio--"  
"Yes, I know. It's the dish you chose. But please. Look after it and DON'T eat it." He kisses him and gives him Chiyoh's metal bar. 

Will doesn't feel great. He leans on Hannibal and suddenly his body goes limp. He falls on the platform, avoiding the Sanguinaccio Dolce. He closes his eyes but stay awake. Hannibal looks after him. 

Level after level he kills everyone who tries to get even close to the platform.   
Level 202, he throws food at two men taking a bath in a child pool and he watch them fight for it.

Will opens his eyes and reads '250' on the wall.  
"Hannibal. It's the end of it. We are at the bottom of the--"  
But the platform doesn't stop. And they see another level.  
"Be strong, be strong, Will."

On their never-stopping way down they see body cut in two by the platform. Bodies burnt.  
Will sees Alana and Gideon next to him. He closes his eyes. And remember Hannibal, in level 171. The warmth of every inch of his skin.

Hannibal gives smaller and smaller rations to the few people still alive.

"Will, there's only the Sanguinaccio Dolce left."  
"Protect it. Please. Protect it." He barely opens his mouth when he speaks now. His face isn't swollen. But his chest hurt. Sometimes he coughed blood. "Hannibal. Protect it. The Sanguinaccio Dolce is the message."

Level 333. The platform stopped. There's no-one.  
"Will, wake up. We are at the bottom of it." He shakes his shoulder and sees his eyes move behind his eyelids shut. "Will, please. Wake up. Will..."  
He pushes all the plates off the platform and makes Will rollover. He puts his ear next to his mouth. He is still breathing. He opens the top of his onesie and see large bruises on his chest, all over his lungs. He takes a glass and breaks it. He feels his ribs, none is broken. He counts them from the last one and finds the right space. He pushes the glass through his skin, between his ribs and into his lungs. Blood comes rushing out of his lungs. And he opens his eyes. Takes a deep breath.  
He coughs loudly. He is breathing. Hannibal cups his face with his hands and kisses him.

The platform is still not going down. They look around and see a little girl. Hidden by her blanket, under her bed. She looks at them with her great brown eyes half-covered by her semi-long blond hair. Will looks at Hannibal. He starts to cry. He goes down the platform.  
"Mischa!" He rushes to her and hugs her dearly. "Mischa!"  
Will looks around him on the platform. The Sanguinaccio Dolce is still intact. He takes it with him. And sit next to the platform.  
"Hannibal, you know her?"  
"I lost her. But I found her." He says wetting Mischa's face with his tears.  
'So it was not his brother but his sister.' 'And he wasn't alone after all.' 'Ever since he met me, he wasn't alone anymore.'  
"She seems hungry."  
Hannibal looks at him. Will feels like a rôti now. When straightens up from the platform, it goes down. He looks at it going down.  
"Throw it. Will, throw the dessert!"  
"No, I can't. It's the message."  
"Will!--"  
"Wait. It's not hot."  
"Or cold."  
This level is special. Here they can keep the food.  
The platform is swallowed by the darkness beneath them. And Will looks at the Sanguinaccio Dolce.  
"Will. Please."

Mischa eats it slowly, she respects the food he gave her.

At night they hear the platform rushing from darkness to the level 0. Will is asleep in Hannibal's arms, who stays awake to make sure he is still breathing. Mischa is sound asleep in her bed. Hannibal still can't believe that he is here, with Will and Mischa.

The next day, the platform arrives. Will and Hannibal clear it, throwing all the plates and glasses on the floor. Mischa sits in the middle. Hannibal on her right. And Will on her left.  
The platform goes down. They can still see the light from above.  
Will looks around him. He only sees darkness. Hannibal looks at him. His lung is still bleeding. He will die soon. But he wraps his arm around his shoulders.  
"Are you alright, Will?"  
He doesn't answer.  
"Will. Open your eyes. Will." Will struggles to open his eyes. "Will. We did it."  
He opens his eyes.  
0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, you should go watch this damn movie because you will die happier once you saw it.

**Author's Note:**

> This AU is based on The Platform (2019) a Spanish movie by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. Most of the dialogue is identical and so are the events. But for a more accurate story for hannigram, I chose to let them survive.


End file.
